Castaway
by Thomas Mc
Summary: Her Gunstar was crippled and low on power. She was lost in space and rapidly approaching an unknown star system. Worst of all her partner/mate was dead. This is a standalone crossover between 'Beauty and the Beast' and 'The Last Starfighter' .


**Castaway**  
_By Thomas Mc_

* * *

She felt herself pressed deep into her acceleration seat as she swung her Gunstar around the asteroid at full power. As the first enemy ship appeared on the asteroid's horizon exactly where they had expected it, Zamiis, her 'Starfighter', as well as lover and life mate, made the minutest adjustment in the ships guns and fired. The enemy ship blossomed into a silent fiery flower of destruction. An instant later the second enemy ship came into view and was as thoroughly destroyed as the first. She cheered as she and Zamiis pumped their fists at each other in triumph. A quick scan of the surrounding space revealed no other enemy ships and they both relaxed.

As she and Zamiis basked in the glow of each other's triumphant emotions she thought back to that moment, fifty-odd cycles ago, when they had been awarded the high honor of being assigned the tenth Gunstar to roll off the production line. The new class of ship was supposed to be the ultimate in two man fighting vessels. Not only did it have ten times the firepower of anything else before it, but it also had its own individual hyper-light-speed capability.

Her race was one of the very few in the Star League that mated for life and it was the only race to be natural empaths. Once two of her kind became mated they formed an unbreakable empathic bond that joined their souls together allowing them to feel each other's emotions no matter how far apart they might be physically. This bond combined with their natural speed, strength and stamina made them an ideal fighting unit for the Star Legion. Her race, however, tended to be very gentle and peaceful by nature, despite their rather fearsome appearance. She and Zamiis, with their fierce fighting spirit, were the rare exception to that racial norm so they had joined The Star Legion Defense Force of The Star League and quickly established themselves as one of the top pairs in the elite Starfighter/Navigator teams.

Their celebration that evening after getting their new ship had been very energetic and had lasted all night. Today, just before they had embarked on their present escort mission, she had learned that their celebration of the new assignment had produced a little dividend and she was looking forward to telling Zamiis about it as soon as they returned from this mission. If she didn't tell him soon he would find out for himself when he began to sense the new life growing inside her.

Zamiis knew that she was keeping a secret, (you couldn't really keep a secret from your mate for long when your emotions were so tightly linked together) but he was a very patient man and knew she would tell him when she was ready. She gazed lovingly at Zamiis as he grinned back at her, his fangs gleaming in the light from the nearby double star system.

She adjusted their course to join up with the rest of their squadron and the very important cargo ships they were escorting. As she reached for the stardrive control the enemy detection alarm wailed. An instant later she was slammed to the right as the gunners pod and Zamiis disappeared in a blinding flash of incandescent plasma.

"**Zamiis!**" She screamed as a terrible emptiness replaced the emotions of her life mate within her heart. Then she was slammed back into her seat as the emergency escape protocol self-activated and what was left of her ship jumped away at maximum acceleration. The inside of her pilot chamber flared with the reflected light of the second shot that just missed her.

For an eternity she remained stunned and frozen by the sudden loss of her other half. Her clawed finger hovered over the self destruct switch. Then she thought of the tiny piece of Zamiis and herself that was growing inside her. Slowly her hand moved over to the emergency life support and rescue protocols switch. After a moment's agonized thought, she flipped the switch.

Several things took place. The sealed pilot cabin flooded with sleepy gas; the multiple emergency total life support systems went into operation; the automatic navigator set course for the ship's home starbase then jumped into hyper-drive; and the emergency beacon activated. The life support system would keep her alive and healthy for as long as it took to reach home. Unfortunately the ships navigational computer had been damaged so the ships course was away from the Star League systems. The transmission line from the emergency beacon to the exterior antenna had been severed and the signal barely extended more than a parsec from the crippled ship. She however drifted peacefully off to sleep thinking about her future child, totally unaware of the true extent of her predicament.

~ x x x x x ~

Consciousness slowly returned to the sound of the ships star system proximity alarm. She glanced around in fuzzy disorientation. The first thing she became aware of was the gaping hole in her heart where Zamiis' emotions used to reside followed by the view of the missing front half of the ship. Then she became aware of the restless movement within her expanded belly. She caressed her belly as her tears flowed freely. She slowly came to the realization that she had been under far too long if her pregnancy was this far along. Was she even in known space?

The ship's proximity alarm continued to sound drawing her attention back to her ship. She wiped away the tears and concentrated on assessing her situation. The navigation system was damaged and could not tell her where she was. The ship's power reserves and life support systems were dangerously low. The ship was rapidly approaching an unknown star system. She was within less than a cycle of giving birth.

She ran a scan of the star system. The third planet of the system was the only one that was even remotely habitable. It was small and the atmosphere a bit too thin but it was barely habitable and there were primitive indecipherable artificial electro-magnetic signals coming from it. Like it or not it was her only option. She used a significant portion of the ship's remaining power adjusting course toward that planet and decelerated for final approach.

As she approached the dark side of the planet she ran a final systems check. It was bad. She didn't have near enough power left for any kind of controlled landing. Her mind shifted into overdrive as she studied the approaching landscape ahead of her and ran the calculations. There was not enough power for a survivable land touchdown. If she used just enough power for a one degree course change and put all of the remaining power into deceleration, she could put her ship down in the deep waterway and hit the surface at a possibly survivable speed. It all depended on the strength of the ship's remaining structure, the density of the planet's atmosphere, and the depth and density of the water she was aiming for.

She entered the necessary commands into the ships controls and braced for impact. The ships energy reserves ran out and most of the control panels went dark. The ship hit the atmosphere and the outer shell was soon glowing bright red. She saw fiery bits begin to flake off from the damaged part of the ship. "_Just hold together a little bit longer_," she thought. The stabilization system failed and the ship began to tumble uncontrollably. It was in the hands of the Creator now. Then the ship hit the water's surface and she blacked out.

~ o ~

Her body was one great mass of pain. In a panic she scanned her empathic link to her unborn child. He was unharmed. She relaxed, then the contraction hit. She was going into labor and she had to get to safety quickly.

She glanced out through the transparent bubble. The wrecked ship was nearly buried in the deep mud under the water. Looking down, she saw that a thin trickle of water had the interior nearly half full and the air the cabin was stale, hot and stifling. She took a deep breath and blew the hatch. She burned her hands on the still hot metal of the ships hull as she worked her way through the opening. She did not even realize that her foot bumped the self-destruct switch on her way out. She pushed her pain wracked body to its slowly waning limits as she swam for the surface. She broke the surface and gasped for breath in the too thin atmosphere. She was hit by another contraction and nearly drowned before she regained control then she was thrown several yards by the pressure wave when the self-destruct reduced her ship to a heap of melted slag. Dazed, she looked around then set out swimming toward the nearest visible land.

By the time she reached the shore she was exhausted. She glanced around at a primitive dock for surface water vessels then another powerful contraction hit. She crawled into a dark sheltered alcove as the need to push hit her.

She knew that she was dying as she divested her pain wracked body of the space suit and kicked it into a nearby pile of refuse. A tortured groan escaped her feline lips as the next contraction hit and she pushed for all she was worth. Then it was over and she held her newborn child gazing into his beautiful face. He had Zamiis' intense blue eyes, sharply arched eyebrows and fur coloration, but his tiny flat nose and high cheekbones were definitely from her. She sighed with a combination of joy and melancholy as she held the infant to her breast. "Poor little castaway." She whispered. "What is going to become of you now?" As the infant suckled the last of her life drained away and she knew no more.

~ o ~

They called her Crazy Cora. It was a pretty accurate handle considering her unpredictable mental state. She was huddled in the corner between two warehouses when she saw the figure haul itself out of the water and crawl into a darkened corner beside the dock. For nearly an hour she watched that dark alcove waiting fearfully for the figure to emerge. Finally her curiosity got the better of her and she made her way over to the dark alcove.

For several minutes she stared at the motionless cat-woman and the weakly squirming infant on its chest. She picked up the infant and looked at it. It looked like nothing she had ever seen before. It was a baby with a cat's face and covered with a thin layer of downy fur. Somewhere in her fractured mind she decided that she needed to get the strange infant to a hospital. After looking around, to see if there was anybody else nearby, she nudged the dead cat-woman into the water and watched it slowly drift away in the current.

Stuffing the infant under the tattered coat she stumbled in toward town. For nearly an hour and a half she wandered through lower Manhattan. The biting cold of the January night was seeping into her bones when she spotted the words 'Saint Vincent Hospital' and stumbled into the alley behind the building. She dug out some worn out towels from the pile of trash and wrapped the shivering infant creature in them then laid it down among the refuse. She was looking around for someone to tell about the creature when her mind shifted gears, drifting off in a tangent, and she wandered away from the hospital. By the time she had reached the next corner she had completely forgotten the infant as she continued to look for some nebulous person for some unknown reason.

~ o ~

Anna glanced up at the hospital facade as her mind dwelled morbidly on her recent miscarriage. Her eyes blurred as she turned down the alley and made her way toward the tunnel entrance. She stopped short when she heard a sound coming from the trash pile that she was passing. It had sounded suspiciously like the weak cry of a child. She shook her head. It must be her mind playing tricks on her. She wanted a baby of her own so badly that she was now hearing phantom babies crying. She shook her head in denial and took a step then she heard it again. Imaginary or not, she had to check it out so she waded into the piles of hospital trash.

There it was. A bundle of rags that was moving. Anna picked it up and uncovered the face of the weakly squirming infant. She stared in shock at the face of the infant creature. Was it even human? It looked like it was half lion cub and half human baby. Then her maternal instincts combined with a deep seated need to care for a baby took over and she clutched the infant creature to her breast then quickly made her way to the tunnel entrance.

~ o ~

Jacob Wells and John Pater were in the chamber that was soon to become the fledgling underground communities dining chamber and discussing the falling star that had been spotted a few hours ago. They were alerted by a message racing along the pipes from Anna. She was heading in from one of the southern entrances and had requested that Jacob meet her at the infirmary chamber.

Ten minutes after Jacob and John arrived at the infirmary, Anna rushed in carrying a small bundle that she shoved into Jacobs arms. "Please, Jacob, I think it's dying. You've got to do something."

Jacob pulled back the corner of the rags and nearly dropped it in his surprise. It was a baby but it wasn't quite human. "My god what is this!" He exclaimed looking up at Anna.

"It's my baby." Anna declared.

"It's a monster." John remarked in disgust.

"It's a child and it's mine." Anna retorted as she glared at them both in defiance.

The infant creature produced a weakened cry that sounded distinctly human and the physician in Jacob took over. He set it on the examining table and unwrapped it. "Despite its outlandish appearance, most of its attributes are generally human . . . or at least more human than not . . . and it is male." He mumbled mostly to himself as he began a careful examination of the strange infant.

"I still say it's a monster." John repeated under his breath as observed Jacob's actions, his own curiosity rising to the surface.

The creature was very weak. It appeared to be suffering from exposure and its breathing was labored like it couldn't get enough air. Its heartbeat was much slower than he thought it should be and it appeared to be getting weaker by the second. Jacob seriously doubted that it would last until morning. He cleaned it up as best as he could and wrapped it in a warm clean blanket. There was very little that he could do for it.

Jacob turned to Anna. "I've done all I can for it but I don't have much hope for its survival."

Anna reached over and picked the infant up. "He's mine and he will survive." She looked at the two men her posture radiating defiance. "I'm staying in here with my baby tonight." Then she settled into the battered chair that sat in the corner of the infirmary and cradled the infant protectively.

John sighed and shook his head. His wife's mental stability had barely survived three miscarriages and now this. What would happen to her when that thing died?

~ o ~

Much to Jacob and John's surprise the creature survived the night. Half-way through that first day the infant creature began to cry almost continuously and it refused to take nourishment. Anna begged Jacob to help her son. By the next morning Jacob sent a message to his old friend and fellow physician Peter Alcott asking for his help in a very puzzling problem.

Peter rushed down into the tunnels as soon as he could get away. His first sight of the infant creature left him dumbfounded. By the end of the day he returned with an oxygen bottle and rigged an improvised oxygen tent for the infant. It was soon breathing easier but it continued to cry and they still couldn't get it to take food.

For three days Anna cared for the strange infant under the watchful eyes of Jacob and Peter and the worried eyes of her husband John. Then for no explainable reason the crying ceased. It took its first bottle of milk and its breathing seemed to become easier. Apparently the creature was adjusting and it looked like it was going to survive.

~ x x x x x ~

A small group of people had gathered in the dining chamber at Anna's invitation. By now the entire community had heard about the infant creature that Anna had found last week and most of the rest of the community had also showed up out of curiosity. The result was that the dining chamber was nearly full.

Anna called out to get everyone's attention. Once they quieted down as she began to speak. "We all have ended up living down here for different reasons but the one thing we all have in common is our respect for life and for the potential represent by the child. For the child is the true meaning of this life and I have asked you here to present my new son to you." She looked lovingly down at the sleeping creature that she held in her arms. She glanced over at John. He had indulged her whims but he still didn't really accept her child. She looked out at the rest of those around her. "I have named my son Vincent because I found him behind Saint Vincent Hospital. I vow to love him so that he may learn to love. I vow to show him generosity so that he may learn to be generous. I only ask that the rest of you treat him as you would any of the other children that live down here with us."

Little three-year-old Devin edged closer and peered curiously at the unusual infant. "Kinda fuzzy." He commented.

"Devin!" Jacob barked out in a chastising tone.

"Well he is!" Devin replied defensively. "I think he looks kinda neat."

~ x x x x x ~

Anna looked down on her unusual son in despair. Over the year since she had found him, John had become more and more distant. He had become overbearing and self important. He insisted that everyone call him Paracelsus and follow his demands without question. Jacob was just about the only one in the community that seemed able to stand up to him. On top of that John had begun to show a rather disturbing interest in Vincent. He seemed to think of Vincent as something he could turn into some kind of inhuman weapon to enforce his will.

She approached Jacob in the chamber that he had turned into a library. Jacob looked up from the battered desk where he had been studying a crudely drawn map of the surrounding tunnels. "Hello Anna. Is there something you want?"

She hesitated, squared her shoulders and spoke. "I'm very worried about Vincent." She paused stiffening her resolve. "John has been acting oddly toward Vincent lately and I'm afraid of what he might do." She handed Vincent over to a surprised Jacob. "I don't think he is safe with me and I know that you can protect him from John." Then with a sob she turned and ran from the chamber as Jacob stood there holding the child, staring stunned at the opening where she exited.

~ o ~

That afternoon John stormed into the library demanding that the creature be returned to him. Jacob refused. "Anna placed 'Vincent' in my care for now and if she wants him back all she had to do is ask. Until then I will take care of him as though he were my own."

John stormed out with a final, "we'll see about that."

Jacob continued to brood over what had happened for a while until, with a sense of foreboding, he collected the two largest men in the little community and headed for the nursery. They entered the nursery to find Mary on the floor bleeding from a scraped elbow and John standing over her holding a crying Vincent. Jacob and the two men blocked the entrance when John took a step toward them.

"Out of my way." John ordered as he took another step toward them.

"You're not leaving here with that child." Jacob responded as he stood his ground.

The two, one time, friends glared at each other as Mary picked herself up from the floor. John could have easily pushed his way past Jacob but not the two large men that backed him up. John finally capitulated and practically threw the child at Mary who had come up to him. Mary staggered backward as Jacob and the two men stood aside to let John pass. Jacob quickly checked Vincent and Mary over to reassure himself that neither had suffered serious harm. Then a distressing new development was announced by messages racing along the pipes. Anna had been found dead in her chamber.

~ x x x x x ~

Young Vincent stood in the darkened park staring in wonder up at the moon then he reached toward it as though trying to touch it. Devin nudged him in the side. "Close your mouth, Fuzz, before you start catching flies."

Vincent's mouth snapped shut then he looked over at Devin. "It looks so close." He shifted his gaze back up at the full moon.

After a moment Devin again spoke. "Maybe that's where you come from. He waved his hand at the sky in general. Some where out there, there may be others, like you, wondering where you are."

Vincent's head snapped around to stare at Devin in surprise. The concept was not one that he had never thought of before.

The sound of an approaching car drew their attention and they both faded back into the shadows. As the car drew close Vincent saw a pretty young girl gazing out the window. Vincent took a step forward out of curiosity. The girl spotted him as the car passed then burst into tears as the car continued away from them.

Vincent stood there a moment, stunned that his appearance had caused that girl to cry. Then, tears forming in his own eyes, he turned and ran all the way back to the room that he shared with Devin and threw himself into his bed swearing that he would never go back to the surface again.

~ x x x x x ~

Vincent stood in the park staring up at the scattered stars and remembering that night over two decades ago when Devin had suggested the possibility that he might have come from there. As he envisioned the long lonely future that lay ahead of him, he wondered if there really were others like him somewhere up there. He stepped back into the shadows, pulling his hood further forward, at the sound of an approaching vehicle. Ever since that incident with the little girl at this very place, he never went above without a concealing hooded cloak.

A large dark van came around the curve and stopped. The side door slid open and body was ejected, followed immediately by some small object. As Vincent watched in surprise the door slammed shut and the dark van accelerated rapidly away down the road while the body tumbled down the embankment. By the time the body came to rest the van was disappearing beyond the next curve.

Overcoming his temporary paralysis and fear of discovery, Vincent cautiously approached the still figure. It was a female and he could sense life in her still. He gently turned her over and gasped in horror at the terrible damage someone had done to her face. He felt himself draw to the beauty he still perceived in the woman despite the damage done to her face. He felt her _pain_ and _fear_ as a groan escaped from her lips. Then she lost consciousness. She was very near death and he had to act quickly if he was to save her life. He couldn't very well carry her into the nearest hospital and leaving her outside didn't guarantee that they would find her soon enough to do any good. He picked her up and made tracks for the nearest tunnel entrance. Father would throw a fit but he had no other viable choice.

~ o ~

As Vincent crouched in the upper opening to his chamber staring down at the heavily bandaged injured woman laying in his bed and feeling her jumbled emotions something inside him shifted. She said her name was Catherine. He rolled her name around in his mind savoring the sound of it. He didn't know how, but he knew that this stranger was going to change his life in ways that he could not yet fathom.

As he watched her, she got up out of the bed and began stumbling around his chamber, bumping into the furniture. Just as he was about to go down to her she stopped, turning her bandaged head. "I know you're there." Her voice seemed to grab his heart. He offered to fetch her some of that tea that she liked then retreated up the tunnel.

After sending Kipper to fetch some more of the special tea from the shop in Chinatown he headed back to his chamber. Maybe if he read some more from that book she liked it would help to calm her down. Even now he could clearly feel her emotions. He had never been able to sense another's emotions from this far away before and he wondered what that might mean.

_**The Beginning  
**_

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures.  
**'****The Last Starfighter****' **and its characters are owned by Universal Pictures and Lorimar Film Entertainment.

No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


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